Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
| |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (West)
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)</th><td>Konami</td></tr><tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Designer(s)</th><td>Hideo Kojima (producer, writer, director)</td></tr><tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Series</th><td>Metal Gear</td></tr> |
| Release date(s) | NA November 14, 2001 JPN November 29, 2001 PAL March 8, 2002<ref>SCEE. SCEE 2002 - Key facts and figures. SCEE Press Room. Retrieved on November 25, 2006.</ref> KOR May 30, 2002 |
| Genre(s) | Stealth action |
| Mode(s) | Single player
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)</th><td>ESRB: Mature (M) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 Xbox Microsoft Windows <tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media</th><td>1 DVD</td></tr> |
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (commonly abbreviated to MGS2) is a stealth-based game directed by Hideo Kojima. Sons of Liberty was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami in 2001 for the PlayStation 2. It was well-received publicly and critically, shipping over 7 million copies worldwide<ref name="sales">Big Gaz. Metal Gear Solid 3 Exclusive For Sony. GamePlanet New Zealand. Retrieved on October 31, 2006.</ref> and scoring an average of 96% in Metacritic's aggregate. It is the sixth game in the Metal Gear series and a direct sequel to Metal Gear Solid.
Its release was followed by Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in 2004, a prequel to the entire Metal Gear series. A sequel titled Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots currently in development for the PlayStation 3.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
Metal Gear Solid 2 essentially continues and expands upon the gameplay in the original Metal Gear Solid and its predecessors, namely involving getting from point A to point B without being seen by the enemy soldiers or their electronic surveillance. The player sets off an alarm if seen, sending enemy reinforcements after them; they can only progress safely by remaining out of sight for a set period of time. However, there are some major alterations from the previous title.
Most fundamental are the wider range of skills offered to the player. The new first-person aiming mode allows players to target specific points in the gameworld or on their enemies, greatly expanding tactical options- guards could be blinded by steam, distracted by a flying piece of fruit or hit in key weakspots, such as radios which disables the enemy from requesting "back-up" and the head; which would result in an instant death or the soldier being put to sleep immediately, depending on wether the player was using a standard gun or a tranquilizer gun. Players can now walk slowly, allowing them to sneak over noisy flooring without making a sound, or hang off gantryways to slip past below guards' feet. The corner-press move from the original title, which allowed players a sneak-peak around the next bend, was expanded to allow players to fire around edges from cover.
To prevent an imbalance of power, guards were given more advanced AI, and unlike MGS, work in squads. This amounts to them calling on their radios for a strike team upon seeing the hero, then attempting to flank him and cut off his escape while avoiding the player's attacks. Often strike teams will carry body armour and riot shields, making them an even greater threat to the player. Even if the player escapes to some hiding place like a locker or vent, a Clearing team will sweep in to check the area, often blowing the player's cover and causing another fraught chase to safety.
Boss battles and set-pieces remain roughly similar to gaming tradition- a case of finding a strategy that bypasses the defenses of the enemy and takes them down. However, in a major break from action game standards, it is also possible to clear the entire game- including boss fights- without causing a single deliberate death, through use of tranquilizer guns and stun grenades.
[edit] Plot
[edit] Prologue - Tanker Chapter
Metal Gear Solid 2 opens on a rainy George Washington Bridge in New York City, in August 2007, two and a half years after the events of Metal Gear Solid. Solid Snake, now a member of the NGO Philanthropy, is investigating the development of a new Metal Gear, consistently described only as having been designed to "wipe the floor with all the other models". The new Metal Gear model is being transported for testing by the U.S. Marines following the proliferation of Metal Gear REX's blueprints and the resulting weapons built from them.
Shortly after Snake's arrival to the disguised oil tanker (the USS Discovery), a group of Russian terrorists hijack the ship. These troops are later identified to be under the command of Sergei Gurlukovich, the GRU commander to whom Liquid Snake was scheduled to sell the plans for Metal Gear REX after the events of Metal Gear Solid. After sneaking up to the bridge of the ship, Snake fights off Olga Gurlukovich, daughter of Sergei. After achieving victory, he steals his way down to the holds in order to record pictures of the new Metal Gear. The weapon in question is found out to be Metal Gear RAY, an amphibious anti-Metal Gear prototype. Matters rapidly escalate as Revolver Ocelot betrays and murders Sergei Gurlukovich, sinks the tanker, and steals Metal Gear RAY for an unknown third party.
Revolver Ocelot also sports a new right arm, necessitated after an incident with Gray Fox in Metal Gear Solid. It is revealed that the arm is that of the late Liquid Snake, the arm causing a change in Revolver Ocelot's demeanor and behavior, as Liquid somehow 'possessed' him.
[edit] Plant Chapter
The player finds himself in control of Raiden, supposedly operating under a reformed FOXHOUND two years after the Tanker Chapter on April 29, 2009. His mission is to rescue the U.S. President and other hostages from the Big Shell facility off the shoreline of New York City, held hostage by the anti-terrorist group Dead Cell. They call themselves Sons of Liberty, and claim to be led by Solid Snake, presumed dead since the sinking of the tanker. Raiden infiltrates the Shell via sea while SEAL Team 10 enters by air as a diversion, though the latter are unaware of Raiden's presence.
Raiden discovers he is to be supported by his girlfriend, Rosemary, and a number of characters he meets during his mission. Most notable are the self-proclaimed Lt. Junior Grade Iroquois Pliskin and Peter Stillman, a bomb disposal expert that was brought in with the SEALs. His most unlikely ally takes the form of a "cyborg ninja" imitating Gray Fox's ninja persona, but calling himself Mr. X.
Through the course of Raiden's mission, it is revealed that the Solid Snake leading Dead Cell is in fact Solidus Snake, a third clone from Big Boss. Iroquois Pliskin is in fact the real Solid Snake in disguise. Also, the Big Shell and the sinking of the oil tanker that necessitated it were merely a cover-up for the development of Arsenal Gear, a mobile fortress defended by a fleet of mass-produced, unmanned Metal Gear RAY units.
Through a meeting with Emma Emmerich (Otacon's step-sister), Raiden discovers that Arsenal Gear was secretly built as part of a conspiracy by the Illuminati-like Patriots to further their control over the public interests and people's knowledge of what is going on around them (In other words, controlling the truth and shaping people's lives). It carries a neural network of supercomputers facilitated by several AIs, two of which are named "GW" and "JFK" (presumably after the former U.S. presidents George Washington and J.F. Kennedy), which is designed to monitor, block, and tamper with Internet communications, in order to further the totalitarian agenda of The Patriots.
By the end of the story, all of the members of Dead Cell have fallen with the exception of the immortal Vamp. Olga Gurlukovich (who is revealed to be the true identity of the Ninja), Peter Stillman (died from an explosion), Emma Emmerich (wounded by Vamp, which led to her death), President Johnson (shot by Revolver Ocelot), and DIA operative Richard Ames (who died from a 'heart attack') have died as a result of the mission. Liquid Snake's personality also seems to completely dominate Ocelot's body, resulting in him deliberately crashing a fully-armed Arsenal Gear into New York City itself. Raiden becomes aware that his mission was just an experiment by the Patriots to test their new information-control system, and kills his just-reunited adoptive father, Solidus (who tried to topple The Patriots' rule and control), atop Federal Hall.
The game ends on April 30, 2009.<ref>(Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty) Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, 2001</ref>
[edit] Excised material
Significant changes to the game's ending were made late in development following the September 11 attacks in New York, where the finale occurs. A sequence depicting Arsenal Gear's displacement of the Statue of Liberty and crashing through half of Manhattan was removed, as was a short coda to appear after the credits, a breaking newscast showing the Statue of Liberty's new resting place, Ellis Island. At the point where Solidus dies, Raiden was supposed to have cut the rope on Federal Hall's flagpole, causing an American flag to fall over Solidus' body, and American flags which were supposed to be on all the flagpoles in New York were cut.
MGS2 was also intended to reference the novel City Of Glass, notably in the naming of its characters. Raiden's support team would originally feature a field commander called Daniel Quinn; Maxine "Max" Work, an Asian woman who saves game data and quotes Shakespeare; and William "Doc" Wilson, the creator of GW. All take their names from key characters in the book, and all three would turn out to be AIs. None of these characters survived to the final edition, though Peter Stillman takes his name from another City Of Glass character.
[edit] Versions and re-releases
The Japanese release was held back two weeks following the initial North American release. As a result, the developers added new features and cut scenes, including two new modes: Boss Survival and Casting Theatre (the latter allowed players to select cut scenes and change the character models used). Like the original Metal Gear Solid, a Premium Package of the game was issued in addition to the stand-alone version. The box came with the reversible cover art on the DVD case, a DVD video, an A4-sized pamphlet and a metallic-colored Solid Snake figurine.
The game's original and fitting European release date of February 22, 2002, nearly three months after the other releases, was delayed another two weeks. The added features from the Japanese release were carried over to the European version, along with a new difficulty setting (European Extreme). In addition, the European edition featured a Making Of DVD video by French television production house FunTV. As well as coallating all of MGS2's promotional trailers and a Gamespot feature on the title's closing days of production, it featured a documentary filmed at KCEJ West's Japanese studio.
[edit] The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2
Released on September 12, 2002 in Japan and September 24 of the same year in North America, The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 is an interactive "making of" documentary released for the PlayStation 2. Since it's actually an interactive software and not a documentary in the traditional sense, the player can view all of the polygonal models used for characters, mechanics and areas in the game, as well as listen to the game's soundtrack. The disc also features all of the real time cut-scenes from the game (with the sound effects and voices removed) and their respective storyboards. Other features include special behind-the-scenes footage, all of the game's pre-release trailers, the completed script, Hideo Kojima's original game plan (available only in Japanese, although a fan-translation was made [1]) and a gallery of Metal Gear Solid related products and merchandise. The disc also includes five "VR Training" levels that served as a precursor to Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (see below). Although it did not receive a standalone European release, the disc was packaged in the PlayStation 2 version of Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance.
[edit] Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance is a multi-platform updated version of the original MGS2 released for the PlayStation 2, as well as the Xbox and PC. The game contains the main Sons of Liberty game with some subtle alterations (including a new infrared effects for the thermal goggles and a new set of dog tags), as well as the inclusion of Boss Survival and Casting Theater modes (both which were not included in the original North American release).
The main addition of Substance is the inclusion of nearly 800 stand-alone missions (similar to those from Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions) with 300 missions set in a VR environment (including a set of missions played for a first person view) and 500 "Alternate Missions" (including bomb disposal missions) that take places in areas from the main game. In Missions mode, player can choose between Solid Snake and Raiden, as well as unlock alternate outfits for both (such as Raiden in Gray Fox's ninja costume and Snake in his sneaking suit from Metal Gear Solid). Substance also includes five plot-based "Snake Tales" missions starring Solid Snake. Due to the low production value of these missions, there's no spoken dialogue (only on-screen text during key points that narrates the action) and all of the areas are from the main game (the majority taking place in the Big Shell). Exclusive to the PS2 version is the inclusion of a bonus Skateboarding mode based on the Evolution Skateboarding engine that features Snake and Raiden on the Big Shell.
Substance was originally released as an Xbox exclusive in North America on November 5, 2002. The PS2 version was held back until March, 2003 and released alongside the PC version. All three versions of the game were released almost simultaneously in Europe, the PS2 version being bundled with a free copy of The Document of MGS2 to make up for a substantial delay in its release. Substance was released in Japan on December 19 of 2002 for the PS2 only (the Xbox and PC versions were not released there).
[edit] Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel 2
In September 2006, an issue of Famitsu contained an interview with Hideo Kojima, wherein he revealed that a second Digital Graphic Novel is in development, based on IDW's MGS2: Sons of Liberty series drawn by Ashley Wood. However no official date has been set for it's release as of yet.
[edit] Music
Hideo Kojima's choice of composer for Metal Gear Solid 2 was highly publicized in the follow-up to the game's release. Kojima decided upon Harry Gregson-Williams, a Hollywood film composer from Hans Zimmer's studio, after watching The Replacement Killers with sound director Kazuki Muraoka. A mix CD containing 18 tracks of Gregson-Williams' work was sent to his office. Flattered by the research put into creating the CD (as some of the tracks were unreleased, and that what tracks he'd worked on for some films were undocumented), he joined the project soon after.
In order to bypass the language barrier and allow the score to be developed before the cut-scenes were finalized, Gregson-Williams was sent short phrases or descriptions of the intended action. The resultant themes then shaped the action sequences in return. Gregson-Williams also remixed the original "Metal Gear Solid Main Theme" for use in the game's opening title sequence.
Norihiko Hibino, who had worked on previous Konami games such as Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, was responsible for all of the in-game music. He also worked on the majority of the game's cut scenes, re-orchestrating Gregson-Williams' "Main Theme" remix for use in several sequences.
As with Metal Gear Solid, the cut scene music includes orchestral and choir pieces, while the in-game soundtrack is scored with ambient electronic music. However, the score as a whole incorporates more electronic elements (particularly breakbeat) than its predecessor, in order to reflect the plot's thematic thrust of a machine-dominated society. Rika Muranaka again provided a vocal ending theme, a jazz track entitled "Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday," sung by Carla White.
[edit] Reception
[edit] Critical Response
As a result of promising trailers and the huge commercial success of its predecessor Metal Gear Solid, there was a high level of anticipation in the gaming community surrounding the release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty'.[citation needed]
Sons of Liberty was highly successful and critically acclaimed at release, due to its exceptional graphics, gameplay and storyline, which explored philosophical themes regarding evolution, memes, digital information, censorship, artificial intelligence, manipulation of free will, the problems with democracy and the nature of reality in great detail.<ref>http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/metalgearsolid2</ref> Critics praised the game's level of graphical detail, in particular the use of in-game graphics to render plot-driving cut scenes.<ref name="gamespotreview">Metal Gear Solid 2 Review. Gamespot (2001). Retrieved on 28 August, 2006.</ref>
[edit] Awards
- E3 2001 Game Critics Awards: Best Console Game, Best Action/Adventure Game
- E3 2000 Game Critics Awards: Special Commendation for Graphics
- Game Informer 2001 Game of the Year.<ref>"Games of 2001." Game Informer. January 2002: p. 52</ref>
[edit] See also
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
- Official site at Konami
- Official site at Konami Europe
- Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty at MobyGames
- Metal Gear Week on 1UP.com, with Hideo Kojima interview
- "dreaming in an empty room" - A defence of Metal Gear Solid 2
- Ending Analysis: Gene and Meme
es:Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty eo:Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty fr:Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty it:Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of liberty ja:メタルギアソリッド2
